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 by Salnave, reenacted the Constitution of 1846. But it was too late to be of avail and the abolition of the dictatorship was powerless in saving the Government; for Cap-Haitien and the whole department of the Northwest had already joined the cause of the insurrection. A bold attack on Port-au-Prince at length put an end to this deplorable civil war. On the 18th of December, 1869, Generals Brice and Boisrond-Canal landed at the capital at the head of 1,200 soldiers; in the night they had surprised the Government man-of-war La Terreur. During the fight which ensued this ship began bombarding the Executive Mansion; a shot struck the powder magazine, causing it to explode just after Salnave had quitted the place. He succeeded in reaching the Dominican territory; but General Cabral, who was in sympathy with his opponents, betraying the trust he had placed in him, gave him up to the Haitians. On the 15th of January, 1870, Salnave arrived at Port-au-Prince, where he appeared before a court martial. He was sentenced to death and shot on the same day at six o'clock in the evening, tied to a pole set up on the smoking ruins of the Executive Mansion. Since then no President has ventured to accept or to assume the Presidency for life.

On the 27th of December, 1869, the following provisional government was organized: Nissage Saget, President; Michel Domingue, Vice-President; Nord Alexis, Dupont junior, and Volmar Laporte, members.